Everything is clear to me now...

So i have finally done it; Lasik surgery,mostly sponsored by my mom and my bro while i fork out the rest.

Before, when i wake up and look outside my window, all i see is a blurry mess.

Ever since i had my Lasik surgery, everything is clear as day.

Fine, i don't have a nice landscape with trees that framed the sun but let's pretend I do okay? =D

I decided to go for Shinagawa Lasik Clinic where i was warmly welcomed by AMAZING staff and doctor.

Everyone was genuinely nice and always explaining every single step/procedure i was about to go through; from the Pre-Op, during the Op and Post-Op.As i am writing thing, i have already went for my 1 Day Post-Op and is going for my 1 Week Post-Op tomorrow.



I won't go into detail in the entire surgery but Lasik surgery is where an eye doctor create a cornea (lining of your eyeball) flap, goes 'tiu tiu tiu' (ok there's no 'tiu tiu' sound) with the laser and you will get almost perfect eyesight. Now, i said almost because every eye is different so achieving perfect eyesight maybe a tad too idealistic.


For my case, i have a thin cornea and my doctor, Mr Lee, said that i am lucky that i have low degrees on both eyes [R:525, L:425] so it's just enough for me to be eligible for Lasik and i will achieve 97% of perfect eyesight. I was not complaining since it was good enough for me, at least i can cross the road without my glasses.


Now, for those who are a little apprehensive about Lasik due to people who just don't know who to tell a story properly, it is NOT scary. Here are the common topics i get:



The Pain (during surgery):  
There is no pain. They will drop some numbing eye drops and come on, what kind of surgery involves pain during the operation? I'd say, a botched one!

The Pain (after surgery): 
I only encounter a slight tolerable burning sensation with tearing 1 hour after the surgery but it went away after i took my nap. That was the only pain i experienced.



The Burning Smell:
I admit, i was ready to smell of delicious cooked meat but seriously, there was hardly any smell. Perhaps a small whiff but it was gone the second time you tried to smell it.


Dry Eyes:
I was told this case is different to different people. Some may experience really dry eyes and some not at all. For me, It was more in the middle. I experienced some mild dryness; like when you stare too long at the computer.


After the surgery, i was given 1 bottle of eye drops for Anti-inflammatory, 1 bottle for Anti-bacterial, pills for pain (if any), for sleeping (if needed) and some tear drops for lubricant. I was also given plastic covers with tape to cover my eyes when i am sleeping just in case i might accidentally rub my eyes at night.

They even gave me paper instructions just in case i wasn't paying attention. haha Perhaps too amazed to know that i can see clearly despite of the hazy effect from the surgery to listen.

I have yet to know my current eye degree, perhaps tomorrow? One thing for sure, i can SEE (clearly)!!!

'Abang Keropok'

'abang keropok' is in malay translated as 'the guy who sells chips/snacks'

Despite the title being 'Abang Keropok', he is not the sole reason of this post but merely a trigger of another topic.

Trust

It started when my mom told me a malay man, probably in his mid thirties came knocking on the door at about 3pm to sell his 'keropok'. Not only that, he asked my mom if he could come in and pray for his afternoon prayers. Of course, being cautious, my mom politely refused for obvious reasons. He accepted my mom's rejection but asked if he could leave his 1 big bag of kerepok (he had 2 with him) for a while so that he can do his prayers and rounds. My mom said yes and asked him to leave it in the corridor and she will take care of it.

Minutes became hours and by the time my mom shared me the story, it was close to 6pm. Where is this man?

With my wild imaginations, i began to wonder this man's intentions. 

Why would a stranger trust another stranger to guard his half a day's worth of goods?

Is he just a naive man who trusts someone too much just because of our similar religion and race? I can think of some people despite of any religion and race who would steal his goods without a heartbeat.

Is he really a con man whose 'Plan A' failed when mak refused his request to pray in our house and wish to secretly take back his 'kerepok' and then claimed that he never did and framed us in stealing his?

Is there a robot/evil spirit hidden in the plastic bag and will only come out when we were sleeping in the middle of the night and steal and kill us!?

Yea, I went back to reality when i got to that point but you can't blame me when 6pm turned to 9pm. Beside the obvious fact that i have severe trust issues, i came to think of what has the world has become.

To know that someone has his full trust on a mere stranger is almost preposterous.

Am i the only one who thinks this way? Is a stranger's trust is so rare that it has to be doubted?

Anyways, it was getting late and we don't want to be bothered by a knock on the door when we were sleeping so we left the bag covered outside our door.

 50 minutes later, the man came back for his kerepok. He apologized, thanked us and went on his merry way. 

He was lucky, we don't have bad intentions but would he be lucky the next time?

10 Reasons why i need Lasik

Been wanting Lasik surgery for a very long time because clearly, I am sick and tired of wearing spectacles for 16 years.

 

I have been wearing spectacles since late primary school; maybe due to excessive reading and plastering myself to the TV screen. As if being scrawny, having a mountain of a hair and an overbite was not enough, I have to wear spectacles.

 

But when I was in Secondary 3, I started to wear contact lens and forever set a trend in my school. (yea right)  and no, even that didn’t make me popular.

 

Contact lens were my best friend until when I was in Poly, they turned on me.My eyes got bloodshot red and there was even one night, I can barely open my eyes! After many visits to the eye doctor, I was diagnosed with Dry eyes because eyes are not producing enough moisture.

 

I was told not to wear contacts for 2 weeks and after years of not going out without them, it’s almost life changing. But I have no choice. I was also advised that if I wish to wear contacts, I was supposed to wear it every week or more.

 

And that’s what I did. I only wore contacts on special occasions.

 

Seriously, spectacles are such a pain in the ass!

     

[This picture was taken roughly 2 years ago and this is 

the best picture i have wearing spectacles thus far]

Here are 10 Reasons why I need Lasik Surgery.

 

1.      I think I look better without spectacles. (Ya ya, my number 1 is for vain purposes)

 

2.      I can’t act pretty with long fake eyelashes with spectacles. (reason number 2 is vain for purposes too. bluek)

 

3.      Sweating while wearing spectacles sucks! Your body heat vapors up your spectacles and spectacles tend to slip down.

 

4.      Foggy spectacle when alighting from an air conditioned bus/taxi.

 

5.      The sometimes laziness of putting on the lens and I have to wash my hands extra clean if I ate something spicy with my hands because the spiciness can be transferred to the lens. -_-

 

6.      I can’t really enjoy swimming because who swims with spectacles anyways? And it’s not advisable to swim with contacts but I admit I do. >_<

 

7.      Spectacles tan line.... need I say more?

 

8.      And I can’t protect my eyes from the glaring of the sun when with spectacles unless I get transition lens and i don't want!

 

9.      I always end up sleeping with my spectacles which will bend it out of shape.

 

10.  A hazard when being playful (which I am all the time). You have no idea how many times it felt like my spectacles are embedded to my face for that few seconds when i am hit in the face.

 

***

 

Well, I just went for my Pre-Op for lasik this afternoon at Shinagawa and i am eligible for lasik despite having a thin cornea. My surgery will be tomorrow morning,people!

 

Will blog more on the details after the surgery and rest. Wish me well. *nervous grin*

Nothing beats a morning walk...

...unless you are not a morning person then its not a good idea i suppose. 

But we didn't wake up in the break of dawn and only officially started walking at Bedok Reservoir at 8.20am.

We (speed) walked all 4.3km of it and frankly speaking after all the walks we have done so far, its really not that challenging but it was enough to make me sweat. Plus, personally, i have walked here hundreds of times by now.

I brought my digital camera for fun and snap a few pictures.

At our starting point.

Jhon felt a tiny stone in his shoe.

Jhon was rolling his eyes and chuckled at me for bringing my camera and lo and behold, we saw the biggest eagle that i have ever seen circle at the reservoir for prey and i managed to get a good shot.

hmph! here's me rolling my eyes at him!

More pictures...

This was the last shot and it is of my trusty old sport shoes which i only wear for long walks/trekking. It has been loyal to me for over 5 years? I think i might need to get a new one. hmmmm

My 52nd Birthday….. eh?

My birthday was on 12th April and since it fell on a Monday, mom decided to celebrate it on Sunday for convenience. She offered to cook for me “Roti Kirai”. I was excited until I realized that I am the one who always do the “kirai” part and not others. I tried to be optimistic thinking perhaps my sis would help for this time but she and her husband already “ran away” by staying over with the in-laws for the night. =P

Woke up at 10am and start with the kirai. I was so cranky (my tweeple would know) because I haven’t had my breakfast, I have to cook 2kg worth of kirai and I thought it would be a day for me to feel “special”.  Just another mood poisoning I guess. 

ANYWAYS, cooking it is pretty fun if you like art. It’s like abstract work. After you are done, you fold it into triangles and eat it with Beef Curry and Salad.

In the noon, my bro, kak yana and shibly came over and eventually my sis came back home.

It was not really a party actually, it’s more of a gathering and I really look like I am ready to go to sleep with my home clothes and everyone just slacked around the house.

The pivotal moment of the day was when Jhon called me that he is outside my house and I was greeted with a huge bouquet of roses (26 stalks) and Fizah grinning behind him. I really didn’t expect Fizah or the gifts and I love surprises. Tee hee!

The funny part is that both Kak Yana and Fizah bought cakes; Coffee cake and Fruit cake. Hahahaha

It was only in the evening that we did the obligatory Happy Birthday Sing Along with 2 cakes and 52 candles! Haha But you know what? Upon looking how I failed at blowing just 26 candles at one blow, I think I am at an age of 52. =C

Well, the cakes were delicious.

My sis bought me my favorite jumbo size Cetaphil and Fizah brought my Thai corn chips and an ipod dock/radio!

The day ended with Jhon since he was the last one to leave. 

On my actual birthday, after work, Jhon and I head to Parkway to eat at our favorite Indian food stall and ordered Bee Hoon Goreng with egg and had Longan drink. yum yum!

We walked around Parkway Parade Mall and i bought myself a bag for my birthday!

A Sembonia bag for everyday use. wohoo!because my current one is decomposing and was covered with a bandaid (i am not kidding, i would take a photo but it would be too embarrassing haha).

Jhon bought me a bottle to replace my old and dirty personal bottle at home that i always fill with plain water. You would think it was an easy buy but nope! it was not. I am VERY particular about my bottle. haha 

He also bought for me a mini utility knife to replace that i had lost. Now i can protect myself from potential molesters and rid of straying threads on shirts, which ever comes first. 

My birthday is pretty much humble and it has always been that way. Can't complain but just Thank God that i am still living thus far. ^_^

Sawadekaaaa - Day 4 of 4

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              Sawadekaaaa - Day 3 of 4

4th of April was our last day in Thailand and our flight was at 11.45am so we had another day to wake up early to leave for the airport. After the previous day, we were extremely tired (you can see from my groggy face and fizah's fake smile haha) I am so glad that i took leave on Monday even though we were landing on a Sunday. It was a well needed rest.

We had our breakfast,had some last minute checking with the stuff and head to the van. It was a beautiful day to leave Thailand...

But before we reached the airport, Victor gave us another surprise visit to a small shop that sells all kinds of snacks and foodies. It was almost he could read my mind because my colleague always brought home delicious chips etc from Thailand and voila!

After checking in the airport, we roamed around the place and found many many many branded shops that made all the girls go crazy until we didn't realized that we walked in the wrong direction (away from our gate) and have to rushed the opposite direction haha. 

When we arrived in Singapore at about 3pm, we were warmly greeting by my bro, SIL and Shibly who saw right through me and called for Jhon. -_-'' 

He and his "bestfriend"

One of mom's gift was a Muay Thai's shorts for Shibly. He looked so awesomely cute.

Muay Thai Ah pek (old chinese uncle) hahaha

The entire trip was awesome. I think everyone was satisfied because we managed to shop and also experience Thailand. We were so lucky to have a small group with an awesome tour guide. I also found out that we were very very very very lucky because as soon as we left Bangkok, the Red Tshirts where brewing some sort of a commotion and it was only 1 or 2 days after we landed, the major rioting happened. I saw the news and there were a few clips that showed spots that we actually passed during the City Tour and it really gives me goosebumps to know that we were there just a few days ago.

It was almost they waited for us to safely land in Singapore before they start to riot. hehehe

This trip is really making me itchy for more!

Sawadekaaaa - Day 3 of 4

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              Sawadekaaaa - Day 2 of 4

Another early wake up call at Hiso Hotel and breakfast was not as great as at Bangkok but its enough to fill our stomach. Our first trip of the day was Coral Island via speed boat. It was rather fun especially it was hitting the waves, almost like James Bond. =P

But before we arrived at Coral Island, we had a little pit stop on a floating platform where you can go Parasailing!! Its was really cool especially in the break of dawn when its not so hot. Mom said that they would purposely dip the guys in the water just for thrills. haha 

When everyone had their fun, we continue to head for Coral Island. This is the first time i have seen non-chocolaty waters in real life! It was as serene and beautiful as i expected it.

Over there, we rode Jetski, Banana Boat and simply swam around in the clear waters. We would even see little fishes swimming among us! We then head home and was given 3hours at our hotel to properly clean up ourselves, have lunch and take a nap.

One thing i like about Victor, our tour guide is that he knew all the perfect timings. He made sure that we will only leave the beach until 11am. Anytime after that, the sun will be merciless. Not only that, I noticed that every time we just finished our outing, hoards of tourists from other agencies would arrive, meaning that we always have the whole place to ourselves before it gets over crowded.

He also brought us to another surprise pit stop like the Gem Distributor and the shop that sells animal skin's products, he brought us to a Honey Distributor. There, we held a honey comb full of bees and learned the benefits of honey, pollen and Royal Jelly. They sell are quite cheap too so no doubt some of us bought some.

After that, we head to Pattaya's Floating Market. It was almost like a maze for us but the place is rather nice. There were zip lines and those little rides where you can cycle in the water but we did not manage to take it due to the time constraint. But you know what? It doesn't matter because I FELL at the top of the stairs!!! Thank God i had my hands free because Jhon carried all of my stuff so i managed to grab the railing with both my hands before i roll down the stairs. I was alone at that time while  Jhon was busy taking photo of Fizah.

It happened so suddenly and i was surprised that i didn't even let out a squeak when i fell. haha One thing though, as i fell to my knees onto the lower step, i scrapped both of my shins. I only checked on them by the end of the day and i have one ipod sized bruise on my left shin and one small one on my right. 

Phew! what a trip. =P

We then was sent to Alangkarn. We were greeted by the mascots but we were a little irritated by their insistence of a tip. We almost grabbed by another one but i rubbed my belly saying i wanted to eat and headed for our dinner.

I tell you, if you go to Pattaya. YOU HAVE TO WATCH THIS SHOW. My mom kept thinking it would be just a boring cultural show but DAMN! It was very theatrical, dramatic and over the top with fires, explosions and real life elephants on stage. Their costumes were fantastical that would make any woman drool and wish to own one. 

That was the end of our itinerary of the day so we were allowed to have the rest of the night all by ourselves so we randomly walked around the market near our hotel. We were kinda lost at first because my mom and sis wanted to go to a specific market that they don't know the name of and ended up red light district where the men just pulled tourists and showed lewd pictures hahha

I was horribly tired from the walking and also from the fall but i didn't tell my family because i knew it would not make a difference and that they are very keen in what they have in mind.[i only told them when we are in Singapore haha] Eventually we gave up searching and found a nice area to shop and walk around.

We saw a stall that sells the infamous deep fried insects, awesomely cute and cheap mini bunnies wearing cute outfits, barbie dolls and clothes galore. Mom did alot of shopping but she was upset that she saw nothing that is suitable for her and always ended up buying for others. 

There is one specific stall that sells drinks in such a presentable way that i can't deny that i was attracted to it like a moth to a flame and the coconut juice is pure heaven and exactly what we needed since we were so hot and sweaty.

Eventually, everyone was way too tired to walk any further so we headed back to our hotel. I don't know why but despite being so exhausted, Fizah and I kept laughing and walking like drunks when we went back. I guess we were THAT tired. hahah

And guess what? Jhon bought the deep fried bugs!!!! I have always told Jhon that i would want to try it if i am in Thailand. He told me that he don't want to buy the big ones like the scorpions or spiders so he bought Grasshoppers, Crickets and Baby Eels. I tell you, it was DELICIOUS because it was fried till super crispy and with spice. The funny thing that i have this huge phobia of bugs so what i did was asked Jhon to feed me and i just chewed away.

No, i am not cured from my phobia but it was still an interesting experiment. My favorite was the baby eels, tasted like "Ikan Bilis" (baby anchovies). Least tasty among the three would be the Grasshopper. Along with a Thailand supper, we also drank some Thailand brand drinks. Syiok. Fizah also happened to buy delicious corn chips that i am still salivating till now. Had made them buy a few more for me but unfortunately it was in Fizah's bag and we totally forgot to take it. 

The third day is definitely the most tiring day of the entire trip.

To be continued....

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